Holder for christmas trees and the like



W. DICKS'.

HOLDER FOR CHRISTMAS TREES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.24-, 1920.

Patented Dec-27, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM DICKS, OEBUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 DICKS STAMPING C0,, INQ,OF BUFFALO, NEWYORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

HOLDER FOR CHRISTMAS TREES AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

Application filed September 24, 1920. Serial ltd 412,432.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM DICKS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Holders for Christmas Trees andthe like, of which the following is a specification.

This invent-ion relates to a stand or holder designed more particularlyfor holding a Christmas tree, but is also serviceable for holding otherarticles, such as flowers.

The object of my invention is the production of a strong, simple, neatand stable holder of this character which can be manufactured atcomparatively small cost.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device in the form of aChristmastree holder. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section thereof.Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blank from which the holder is formed. Fig.f is a modified construction of the holder designed to receive a flowervase or glass. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section of saidmodification.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4:, the holder comprises essentially abase 10 of frustopyramidal form and yielding upright holding jaws 11rising from a top pate 12 of the base and adapted to grasp the trunk ofa Christmas-tree or other article. In their preferred construction,these jaws are of concavo-convex cross section so as to form together anapproximately cylindrical socket. The lower ends of the jaws areconnected to the top plate 12, while their free upper ends are bentoutward slightly to facilitate the entrance of the tree-trunk betweenthem. The lower or base-portions 13 of the jaws preferably convergeupwardly from the horizontal top plate 12, to form braces which stiffenthe lower ends of the jaws. This top plate forms the bottom of thetree-socket.

Extending outwardly from the corners of the base are feet or ears 14which are perforated at 15 to receive nails or screws for fastening theholder to a board or other support. In the preferred construction shownin the drawings, each of these feet is provided with alaterally-extending clip. or base-plate 16 which connects and is securedto adjacent walls of the base by rivets 17 or other fastenings.

The pyramidal base and the spring-jaws 11 are preferably stamped from asingle blank of steel or other appropriate material. This blank, whichis shown in Fig. 3, is substantially square and provided in line withits four corners with diagonal pairs of slits l8, producing the fourjaws and the four intermediate panels or dovetail sections 10 which formthe sloping sides of the base. These slits extend from the corners ofthe blank to a point short of its central portion to leave theconnecting web or top plate 12. After cutting the blank to this form,the jaws are properly shaped and the sections are bent into pyramidalform by suitable dies. By bending up the jaws, as shown in Figs. 1 and2, apertures 19 are formed between the sides of the base, and owing tothe inclination of said sides, these corner apertures taper from thelower ends of the jaws toward the feet 14:, producing an ornamentaleffect. The ends or corners of the base-sides 10 are cut off, as shownat 21 in Fig. 3, to prevent interference or overlapping thereof instamping them into pyramidal form.

By thus forming the base and the jaws from a single blank of material,the number of parts of the holder is reduced to a minimum and its costof production is correspondingly lessened.

The pyramidal form of the base renders the same strong and stable, whilethe spring jaws closely hug the stem of the tree and reliably hold it inplace. If desired, the tree may be fastened in the socket by means ofclamping screws passed through holes 20 therein, but such fastenings areordinarily not necessary. Being flexible, the jaws can be bent inwardlyor outwardly more or less to snugly hold tree trunks of differentdiameters.

When the device is modified to form a holder for a flower vase orsimilar article, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, its construction is likethat shown in Figs. 1 and 2, except that the feet 14 are omitted and thedevice is provided with a fiat sub-base or bottom plate 22, the edges ofwhich are flanged or curled upwardly and inwardly over the lower edge ofthe base 10.

I claim as my invention:

1. A holder of the character described, comprising a pyramidal basehaving its sides separated by apertures arranged in line Withitscorners, and upright holding jaws rising from the base and arranged inline with said apertures.

2. A holder of the character described, comprising a pyramidal base andupright holding jaws rising from the top of the base, said parts beingstamped from a single rectangular blank having diagonal pair of slitsarranged in line with its corners andterminating short of the centralportion of the blank.

3. A holder of the character described, comprising a pyramidal base andholding members rising from the top of the base, the sides of the basebeing separated by apertures arranged in line with its corners andextending to the lower edge thereof, and at taching feet extending fromthe corners of the base andhaving base-plates secured to and connectingthe adjacent sides of the base.

WILLIAM DIOKS.

